This is the first book to detail the history and development of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and its constituent treaty, the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States, covering the years from 1955 to 2010. Antonio Parra, the first Deputy Secretary-General of ICSID, traces the immediate origins of the Convention, in the years 1955 to 1962, and gives a stage-by-stage narrative of the drafting of the Convention between 1962 and 1965. He recounts details of bringing the Convention into force in 1966 and the elaboration of the initial versions of the Regulations and Rules of ICSID adopted at the first meetings of its Administrative Council in 1967. The three periods 1968 to 1988, 1989 to 1999, and 2000 to June 30, 2010, are covered in separate chapters which examine the expansion of the Centre's activities and changes made to the Regulations and Rules over the years. There are also overviews of the conciliation and arbitration cases submitted to ICSID in the respective periods, followed by in-depth discussions of selected cases and key issues within them. A concluding chapter discusses some of the broad themes and findings of the book, and includes several suggestions for further changes at ICSID to help ensure its continued success. The book offers unique insight into the establishment and design of ICSID, as well as into how the institution evolved and its relationship with the World Bank. It is essential reading for those involved in this field.

This volume celebrates the first fifty years of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) by presenting the landmark cases that have been decided under its auspices. These cases have addressed every aspect of investment disputes: jurisdictional thresholds; the substantive obligations found in investment treaties, contracts, and legislation; questions of general international law; and a number of novel procedural issues. Each chapter, written by an expert on the chapter’s particular focus, looks at an international investment law topic through the lens of one or more of these leading cases, analyzing what the case held, how it has been applied, and its overall significance to the development of international investment law. These topics include: - applicable law; - res judicata in investor-State arbitration; - notion of investment; - investor nationality; - consent to arbitration; - substantive standards of treatment; - consequences of corruption in investor-State arbitration; - State defenses - counter-claims; - assessment of damages and cost considerations; - ICSID Arbitration Rule 41(5) objections; - mass claims, consolidation and parallel proceedings; - provisional measures; - arbitrator challenges; - transparency and amicus curiae; and - annulment. Because the law of international investment continues to grow in importance in an ever globalizing world, this book is more than a fitting way to mark the past fifty years and to welcome the next fifty years of development. It will prove both educational for practitioners new to the field and informative for seasoned investment lawyers. Moreover, the book itself is a landmark that will be of great value to professionals, scholars and students interested in international investment law.

This is a practice-oriented guide, including text, commentary, tables and index, for anyone dealing with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The legitimacy of investor-State arbitration is a much-debated topic, with arbitrators’ independence and impartiality being one of the core concerns. In The Independence and Impartiality of ICSID Arbitrators, Maria Nicole Cleis explores how unbiased decision-making is ensured under the ICSID Convention. Juxtaposing existing disqualification decisions in the ICSID system against corresponding requirements in related dispute settlement systems, the book convincingly argues that the current approach to disqualification requests against ICSID arbitrators is too exacting in light of the high stakes of investor-State disputes. The author’s nuanced analysis of the status quo is followed by novel suggestions for reforms (including a proposal for ICSID-specific guidelines on conflict of interest), making the book a valuable source of ideas on constructive paths forward.

This major new commentary on the ICSID Convention, Regulations and Rules offers a new, forward-looking and highly practical interpretation of the convention and its associated documents. It is the first commentary to provide systematic article-by-article coverage not only of the Convention itself, but also of the institution rules, the ICSID arbitration rules and the ICSID administrative and financial regulations. Written by a team of leading experts from private practice, government and academia, this uniquely comprehensive work will be an essential resource for those in the investment arbitration community, and a turn-to reference work for international investment law and international arbitration scholars.

ICSID Convention after Fifty Years: Unsettled Issues celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the Convention on the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID Convention or Convention) with an overview and analysis of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) case law to date and, focusing particularly on unsettled issues, assesses possible developments in the institution's next phase. The ICSID has played a leading role in establishing the field of foreign investment law. It is primarily due to the ICSID that it is no longer peculiar for individuals and corporations to have legal standing in claims against governments - probably the most notable development of international law of the past half century. Now, in its fiftieth year and ratified by more than 150 states, the ICSID received its 500th case in 2015. What's in this book: This volume is a collection of twenty-two essays by prominent practitioners with substantial experience in investment arbitration law. The topics they cover encompass such issues as the following: the political and economic reasons behind the creation of the ICSID; admissibility and jurisdiction; ICSID vis-à-vis bilateral investment treaties; States' concerns about the 'partiality' of arbitrators in favour of investors; proceedings involving a non-contracting State; applicable laws under the ICSID Convention; conflicting interpretations of ICSID Convention provisions; interaction of foreign investment and economic development; value of ICSID awards in the light of EU law; annulment of ICSID awards; effects of denunciation (Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela) and non-contracting States (Russia, Brazil, India); attribution of conduct of State-owned enterprises (SOEs); recognition and enforcement of ICSID arbitral awards; counterclaims; and allocation of costs. The cases involve a broad spectrum of international economic matters, including provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty, exploitation of natural resources, electric power, transportation, construction, finance, communications, water, sanitation, agriculture, fishing and forestry, and service and trade. How this will help you: As a detailed response to the question whether ICSID has contributed as promised to an improvement in the investment climate and promoted the flow of private foreign capital - and as an assessment of the present and future feasibility of the ICSID system for the resolution of investment disputes by arbitration and conciliation - this book has no peers. Considering the current crisis of investment law, the book's immediate value, not only to investors and their counsel but also to practitioners and academics, in the field of investment law and arbitration, and public international law cannot be overstated.

Today, investor-state arbitration embodies the worst fears of those concerned about runaway globalization - a far cry from its framers' intentions. Why did governments create a special legal system in which foreign investors can bring cases directly against states? This book takes readers through the key decisions that created investor-state arbitration, drawing on internal documents from several governments and extensive interviews to illustrate the politics behind this new legal system. The corporations and law firms that dominate investor-state arbitration today were not present at its creation. In fact, there was almost no lobbying from investors. Nor did powerful states have a strong preference for it. Nor was it created because there was evidence that it facilitates investment - there was no such evidence. International officials with peacebuilding and development aims drove the rise of investor-state arbitration. This book puts forward a new historical institutionalist explanation to illuminate how the actions of these officials kicked off a process of gradual institutional development. While these officials anticipated many developments, including an enormous caseload from investment treaties, over time this institutional framework they created has been put to new purposes by different actors. Institutions do not determine the purposes to which they may be put, and this book's analysis illustrates how unintended consequences emerge and why institutions persist regardless.